You don’t need “gazillions of dollars” to Innovate the Pixar Way

Lest you think you can’t have a fun place to work because you lack funds, consider this: Prior to the success of Toy Story, Pixar Studios was housed in what president Ed Catmull referred to as a “scrappy” cluster of building in Point Richmond, California. The company couldn’t afford to purchase theatre seats for the animation screening room, so John Lasseter enlisted company-wide support to scout for hand-me-down furniture and on his own time, drove around in a rented truck to retrieve the discards. Pixar ended up with what John called “the most ugly collection of ‘70s couches you’ve ever seen” and that the “room became kind of the soul of Pixar.
Isn’t that what any organization needs to discover – what drives an individual’s creative spirit? It doesn’t have to be an extravagantly decorated room or a collection of costly “stuff”; it just has to be what employees feel represents who they really are.

Don’t use the “no money” feeble excuse for not creating a stimulating environment. Get the team together and dream like a child, believe in your playmates, dare to jump in the water and make waves and do unleash your childlike potential!